'Governor of Long Beach' Killed In Hit And Run Remembered

LONG BEACH, CA — Many knew Edward Corral, also called Tito or Chico, as the self-proclaimed "Governor of Long Beach" before he lost his life in a hit-and-run crash while he was walking in North Long Beach last week.

On April 14, Corral was crossing the street along Atlantic Avenue at about 9:15 p.m. when a car struck him and fled the scene, according to the Long Beach Police Department. His sisters Andrea Lopez and Petrie Cruz said when they went to visit the place their brother was hit, people told them he flew 10 feet up in the air before he landed in the center median.

Corral's sisters were surprised to hear just how many people knew their brother well. In exchange for his help, some of the stores would give Corral free food, and one flower shop gave him free flowers to take to his daughter's grave.

"He was disabled, so he didn't work. He spent his days just walking up Atlantic Street, that was his street," Cruz said. "We came to find out that where he passed, a lot of those small business owners were very familiar with him and he'd help them out from time to time."

Corral's mother's home was just three blocks up the road from where he was hit, but the sisters said the family didn't learn about the accident until much later. Corral's wife Similina Alaimalo called them after Corral's friends told her he had died.

At first, nobody in the family knew where Corral was, and the only clue as to what happened to him was a shoe of his that Alaimalo found at the scene. Corral didn't have any identification on him at the time of the accident, Lopez said, so they didn't find out where he was until the day after the accident because the hospital listed him as a John Doe.

Lopez said her brother was in the ICU at Long Beach Memorial Hospital for four days with severe brain swelling, two broken ribs, a broken leg and tubes coming out of his brain to try and release the swelling. For four days, Corral's family waited in the hospital while he went into surgeries and was put on life support.

"It was agony. It was a lot of what-ifs," Cruz said. "What if he comes out of this? What if they do tell us that he has brain activity?"

It wasn't until Tuesday, April 18 that Corral was officially declared brain dead and was disconnected from life support, Lopez said.

Corral's sudden death shocked his family, who Lopez said was completely unprepared for this to happen and are now scrambling to cover funeral costs. The sisters said the funeral costs totaled up to more than $20,000, and they didn't know how they were going to come up with that money.

Lopez started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to cover expenses that has raised over $4,000 of the $20,000 total as of Friday.

Corral is survived by his wife and five kids Max, Zach, Channel, Rocky and Charlie.

The eldest is 19 years old and didn't leave his father's side the entire time he was in the hospital, Lopez said. For the other kids, Lopez said her sister-in-law told her they are having a hard time processing that their father is gone and talk about him like he's still alive.

Lopez said during his life, Corral's main priority was his kids and he looked out for them to make sure they knew he was never more than a phone call away if they needed him. The family said it's going to be hard to continue without Corral because he meant so much to so many people and always put a smile on their faces.

"He was the jokester of the family," Lopez said. "Nobody could tell him anything because it was something funny coming out of his mouth. He was a clownster for sure."

Corral's sisters said they take comfort in knowing that so many people in his community will remember him because Long Beach meant so much to him. Lopez asked that members of the community keep the family in their prayers and send good vibes to his wife and children.

"My brother loved his city, and it's ironic that that's where his life was taken," Lopez said. "The way we see it, he'll forever walk the streets of Atlantic."